This is summer? July among coolest on record in region

A persistent low-pressure trough over the eastern United States and Canada has kept July temperatures well below normal in central Illinois.

Ideal for wearing a seven-layer cotton hoop skirt from 1860.

“A couple of summers ago, when it was above a hundred degrees every day, it was very brutal,” said Marla Judge, a “living history” interpreter at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield. The Illiopolis resident wears period clothing as part of her work.

This summer, Judge said, has been a nice contrast to summers marked by regular water breaks and a little 21st-century air conditioning as needed.

“This summer has been a definite blessing,” she said.

Two summers ago on July 31, the high temperature was 101 degrees in Springfield, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln. July 2014, in contrast, closed out Thursday as one of the coolest on record across central Illinois.

Springfield was on track for the third-coolest July since 1891.

Cool temperatures of the last few weeks are thanks to the same weather pattern that brought the Midwest one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record, said forecaster Chuck Schaffer at the weather service office in Lincoln.

“It’s a deep area of low pressure that’s funneling cool air right down into central Illinois,” he said.

Schaffer also had good news for fans of cooler, less-humid weather. The pattern likely will continue through August and the Illinois State Fair.

“The overall pattern does not show any signs of breaking up,” Schaffer said.

‘Cooling degree days’

Air conditioners haven’t hummed as much this summer, according to power demand records at City Water, Light and Power.

There had been 39 fewer “cooling degree days” — a utility measure based on average daily temperatures — for May, June and July compared with a normal year. Most of the cooler days fell during July, spokeswoman Amber Sabin said.

“It relates to when people typically start using their air conditioning,” she said.

Total customer demand of 165,000 megawatt-hours in July was down more than 16 percent from the five-year average, while demand in May and June was little changed.

If cooler temperatures slow business for utilities and swimming pools, the lack of the usual heat and humidity of a central Illinois summer has an upside.

“Some summers, when it’s really hot, people just aren’t out walking around,” said Phil Gonet, co-owner of the Cold Stone Creamery ice cream shop at 124 S. Sixth St. “We’ve just had a lot more people downtown.”

Carol Stephani knows about hot. The Phoenix resident was at the Lincoln Home on Thursday as part of a cross-country tour with her sister. The weather Thursday, Stephani said, was not what she was told to expect of Springfield in summer.

“I said, ‘I’m gonna go and sell and move to Springfield.’ It is beautiful,” she said. “Everybody’s been so nice, so gracious.”

Long-term outlook

The cooler-than-normal summer is not necessarily a sign of things to come this fall and winter, said state climatologist Jim Angel with the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign.

He said the unknown at this point is whether El Nino will form over the Pacific Ocean and at what strength. The area of unusually warm ocean water typically means warmer fall and winter weather over the Midwest, Angel said.

El Nino is “taking its sweet time in getting here and may not be as strong as originally thought,” he said.

Historical data at the weather service in Lincoln also should ease concerns that the winter of 2014-15 could be a repeat of last winter.

“We would not expect that,” the weather service’s Schaffer said. “The odds are small that we would have that kind of winter.”

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July is cool

Average temperatures through Wednesday for central Illinois communities and rank for coolest July on record:

Decatur: 70.1, first

Effingham: 71.4, first

Galesburg: 69.9, second

Jacksonville: 69.9, second

Lincoln: 68.7, first

Normal: 69.2, second

Peoria: 72.2, 10th

Springfield: 71.6, third

Urbana: 69.8, first

Source: National Weather Service in Lincoln

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Cool cities

July is normally the hottest month in Springfield, according to the National Weather Service, with an average high temperature of 86.5 degrees. Here are July averages for cities in cooler regions of the country:

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